Scan barcode
mmorales0902's review against another edition
5.0
As a nightmare before Christmas fan, I can honestly say I loved this! It was so creative and well put together!
chelsiemarie1218's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Audiobook - cute story of Jack/Sally wedding, anniversary and her proving she is where she what a to be and saving Halloween town.
sarahp85's review against another edition
4.0
Absolutely adored this?!?!
What a wonderful story about finding your place in the world, finding who you were/are/meant to be. I love Jack & Sally and this was a perfect short "what happened after they married" story.
Also, extra love for ghost ❤️
What a wonderful story about finding your place in the world, finding who you were/are/meant to be. I love Jack & Sally and this was a perfect short "what happened after they married" story.
Also, extra love for ghost ❤️
mommaangell93's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
4.0
thatonebookdragon's review against another edition
3.0
My personal rating is a 3.5/5
We finally get to know what happens next in Nightmare Before Christmas. This sequel takes place right after the end of Nightmare Before Christmas and is entirely focused on a fan favorite, Sally. Jack and Sally officially marry and Sally learns of her new role as the Pumpkin Queen. Being the first ever Pumpkin Queen, Sally questions whether she has it in her to be the Queen her town needs. In need of an escape, Sally finds herself in the forest of doors where she uncovers a door, Dream Town, unlike the rest and she opens it. After she wakes up in Spiral Hill, Sally discovers everyone in her town is in a deep sleep and is unable to be awakened. Now it is up to Sally to help her town and the other worlds in the forest of doors. She travels to find the answer to defeating this new foe and while she seeks answers, Sally learns about secrets of herself.
I have not read a single book from Shea Ernshaw, but I have heard positive things about her writing. She has a gift for bringing words together in order to show the world she wants us to see. I loved reading this story because at times it felt like I was there watching Sally make her moves, but there were times that felt bland and didn’t hit as you would expect.
A story of love, self-discovery, and growth. This book is a good read if nothing else, but for nostalgia. We get to see Jack and the crew even if their roles are much smaller in this story. We also get to see different towns such as Valentine Town and Dream Town. Seeing Valentine Town was fun because we have always been curious about what the other towns look like, but we didn’t get much of that which is a shame. I definitely enjoyed the beauty of Valentine Town and it looked just as one may think such a town would look like. However, Sally becomes more insecure about herself being a queen after meeting the queen of Valentine Town. Her insecurities are what carry the story and it’s a shame because that’s not the Sally we know. Personally, this Sally was one that I could not get behind and it is a shame. Learning Sally’s real backstory also didn’t do much for me and the surprise factor felt more let down than anything else. Oh and we got Zero back and who doesn’t love that little ghost dog? (:
Am I glad I read this? Yes! But would I read this again? No. Minus the nostalgia, there wasn’t much in this story that made me want to read it again.
*FROM HERE THERE WILL BE SPOILERS*
I didn’t have a scene or a quote really jump at me as something I needed to keep in mind. It is an easy-to-forget book which is a shame because it did have a lot of potential. However, there is a lot going on but also feels like nothing really happened. While every book has its flaws, this story’s biggest flaw was Sally’s self-loathing. When I think of Sally, I think of the ragdoll from the film who is unafraid to call out things she doesn’t like and is confident with what she believes. This sequel had Sally start at ground zero with no confidence in herself and constantly thinking of her life as being in a cage. However, it is hard to get behind this when there isn’t much to show she’s in this cage now. And even in the film, she was always escaping the lab one way or another, so was she really even caged then? Just not enough support for the lack of confidence when we initially saw a pretty set in her ways Sally from the film. BUT I will say she grows out of it by the end and thank goodness. Another thing was the constant mentioning of her seams and stitches, we know she’s a ragdoll please stop reminding us.
Sally’s new backstory is hard for me to get behind. The shock factor of it did not really wow me, but that was because I feel detached from this Sally. I was not invested in knowing how Sally felt when she discovers she was not just created in a lab, but was stolen away from her parents by Dr. Finkelstein and had her memories erased.
Another thing was sometimes the wording was too flowery which sometimes broke the aesthetic setup Ernshaw created. Not only that but there were times the pacing went too fast and yet nothing happened for example when Sally traveled through each door. When she got to the last one, St. Patrick's Day, she meets a leprechaun who is still awake. No reason why he didn’t succumb to the sandman, he just has and he is the least bit interested in Sally, but he gives her a four leaf clover and leaves. He’s never mentioned or seen again which is a bit annoying because you kind of linger on this sudden character appearance.
We finally get to know what happens next in Nightmare Before Christmas. This sequel takes place right after the end of Nightmare Before Christmas and is entirely focused on a fan favorite, Sally. Jack and Sally officially marry and Sally learns of her new role as the Pumpkin Queen. Being the first ever Pumpkin Queen, Sally questions whether she has it in her to be the Queen her town needs. In need of an escape, Sally finds herself in the forest of doors where she uncovers a door, Dream Town, unlike the rest and she opens it. After she wakes up in Spiral Hill, Sally discovers everyone in her town is in a deep sleep and is unable to be awakened. Now it is up to Sally to help her town and the other worlds in the forest of doors. She travels to find the answer to defeating this new foe and while she seeks answers, Sally learns about secrets of herself.
I have not read a single book from Shea Ernshaw, but I have heard positive things about her writing. She has a gift for bringing words together in order to show the world she wants us to see. I loved reading this story because at times it felt like I was there watching Sally make her moves, but there were times that felt bland and didn’t hit as you would expect.
A story of love, self-discovery, and growth. This book is a good read if nothing else, but for nostalgia. We get to see Jack and the crew even if their roles are much smaller in this story. We also get to see different towns such as Valentine Town and Dream Town. Seeing Valentine Town was fun because we have always been curious about what the other towns look like, but we didn’t get much of that which is a shame. I definitely enjoyed the beauty of Valentine Town and it looked just as one may think such a town would look like. However, Sally becomes more insecure about herself being a queen after meeting the queen of Valentine Town. Her insecurities are what carry the story and it’s a shame because that’s not the Sally we know. Personally, this Sally was one that I could not get behind and it is a shame. Learning Sally’s real backstory also didn’t do much for me and the surprise factor felt more let down than anything else. Oh and we got Zero back and who doesn’t love that little ghost dog? (:
Am I glad I read this? Yes! But would I read this again? No. Minus the nostalgia, there wasn’t much in this story that made me want to read it again.
*FROM HERE THERE WILL BE SPOILERS*
I didn’t have a scene or a quote really jump at me as something I needed to keep in mind. It is an easy-to-forget book which is a shame because it did have a lot of potential. However, there is a lot going on but also feels like nothing really happened. While every book has its flaws, this story’s biggest flaw was Sally’s self-loathing. When I think of Sally, I think of the ragdoll from the film who is unafraid to call out things she doesn’t like and is confident with what she believes. This sequel had Sally start at ground zero with no confidence in herself and constantly thinking of her life as being in a cage. However, it is hard to get behind this when there isn’t much to show she’s in this cage now. And even in the film, she was always escaping the lab one way or another, so was she really even caged then? Just not enough support for the lack of confidence when we initially saw a pretty set in her ways Sally from the film. BUT I will say she grows out of it by the end and thank goodness. Another thing was the constant mentioning of her seams and stitches, we know she’s a ragdoll please stop reminding us.
Sally’s new backstory is hard for me to get behind. The shock factor of it did not really wow me, but that was because I feel detached from this Sally. I was not invested in knowing how Sally felt when she discovers she was not just created in a lab, but was stolen away from her parents by Dr. Finkelstein and had her memories erased.
Another thing was sometimes the wording was too flowery which sometimes broke the aesthetic setup Ernshaw created. Not only that but there were times the pacing went too fast and yet nothing happened for example when Sally traveled through each door. When she got to the last one, St. Patrick's Day, she meets a leprechaun who is still awake. No reason why he didn’t succumb to the sandman, he just has and he is the least bit interested in Sally, but he gives her a four leaf clover and leaves. He’s never mentioned or seen again which is a bit annoying because you kind of linger on this sudden character appearance.
annettebooksofhopeanddreams's review against another edition
4.0
I must be one of the few people in the world buying this book before ever having seen the movie. Shea Ernshaw is one of my auto-buy authors. Her writing is amazing, her stories are heartbreakingly amazing and she's wonderful when it comes to painting the atmosphere. So, a few weeks ago I watched the movie. Firstly because I was curious in general, but also because afterwards I could finally dive into this book.
What I love about this book is that it doesn't change a thing. Halloweentown is still very much Halloweentown. The people living in it are still very much the same people we met in the movie. That means that the story does lack a certain depth, but I assume people weren't actually really looking for that either. I assume we all just want to return to this world and spend a little more time with the characters who have stolen our hearts.
Although, this story is in the end really mostly about Sally. Jack is asleep for most of the story and I think, strangely enough, that's a good thing. Jack, outgoing and extravert, can steal a lot of light if you keep him awake and present and this book is mostly about Sally discovering who she is and who she wants to be and who she can be if she's forced to step out of the shadows and fight for everything and everyone she loves.
And although we all love Halloweentown I also really loved playing around in some other worlds, no matter how briefly. It must have been a lot of fun for the author to come up with these worlds, to come up with their purpose and what they would need to do to get there. I also absolutely loved Sally's backstory and everything we've learned about her in this book. It did kinda feel like she was also allowed to escape her own shadow.
I can't wait to dive into the Brave story written by another auto-buy author: Maggie Stiefvater!
What I love about this book is that it doesn't change a thing. Halloweentown is still very much Halloweentown. The people living in it are still very much the same people we met in the movie. That means that the story does lack a certain depth, but I assume people weren't actually really looking for that either. I assume we all just want to return to this world and spend a little more time with the characters who have stolen our hearts.
Although, this story is in the end really mostly about Sally. Jack is asleep for most of the story and I think, strangely enough, that's a good thing. Jack, outgoing and extravert, can steal a lot of light if you keep him awake and present and this book is mostly about Sally discovering who she is and who she wants to be and who she can be if she's forced to step out of the shadows and fight for everything and everyone she loves.
And although we all love Halloweentown I also really loved playing around in some other worlds, no matter how briefly. It must have been a lot of fun for the author to come up with these worlds, to come up with their purpose and what they would need to do to get there. I also absolutely loved Sally's backstory and everything we've learned about her in this book. It did kinda feel like she was also allowed to escape her own shadow.
I can't wait to dive into the Brave story written by another auto-buy author: Maggie Stiefvater!
hvtardiswltrvl's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
anyajulchen's review against another edition
3.0
La autora quiso envolver demasiados temas e ideas a la vez para crear una historia de verdad profunda.